Can Tax Progression Raise Employment? A Study of Four European Countries

This paper shows that increases in direct tax progression tend to reduce wages and increase welfare and employment, even in a model allowing for labour supply effects. The employment effect is reversed when benefit levels are low, however. The model shows the different impacts on full and parttime workers, and on men and women. The countries modelled are France, Germany, Italy and the UK. An efficiency wage sector with training costs generates unemployment effects. Households choose between an efficiency wage sector and a market-clearing sector.

Energy Taxes and Employment: A Do-it-yourself Simulation Model

Our paper deals with the welfare and employment effects of green tax reforms. In the first part we develop a flexible, interactive simulation model which is accessible under http://brw.zew.de. Users can specify their own green tax reforms or emission quotas and quantify welfare and employment effects. He or she can choose between different model variants, e. g. closed or small open economies with or without unemployment. In the second part we describe the numerical model specifications and explain some simulation calculations by means of examples. Some exercises for classroom use are available on the above mentioned web-site

integrated methodologies energy efficiency of historic buildings

Abstract For several years, Italian associations and research organizations have been developing strategies aimed at evaluating and increasing energy efficiency in historic buildings, offering a sort of guidelines about this issue. These strategies are intended to provide useful information for a correct approach to the energy retrofit of historic buildings, offering a framework as well as innovative technical solutions for integrated design intervention restoration of historic buildings. The purpose of the guidelines is investigating the relationship between architectural restoration and plant installations, which are – now – rarely explored problems theoretically and experimentally, by introducing the concept of improvement instead of adapting to the standards of safety and comfort, in accordance with the integrated conservation strategies (Amsterdam Declaration, 1975). Effective proposals of a historic building energy retrofit (or a cultural landscape) can be implemented in a conscious way, tending to an architectural and landscape integration, without changing the monumental building, as it often happens in the case of adaptation of a new building to the new rules. The proposed methodology is based on an interdisciplinary approach, articulated in successive phases: analysis of plant systems, measurements of environmental quality, identification of vulnerabilities, defining appropriate intervention techniques, verification of the improvement achieved. The case study concerns a historic building in Salerno (Italy) dating back to the eighteenth century, used as a school complex. It will be investigated by the morphological, technological, static, energy point of view, by the use of a BIM platform, in order to identify energy efficiency measures consistent with the technological and structural aspects. The objective is, therefore, to identify an integrated methodology of energy retrofit of historic buildings

Il Lago della Ninfa (Appennino modenese): comunit\ue0 macrozoobentonica, fauna vertebrata e considerazioni ecologiche

The biocoenoses of Lake Ninfa in the Northern Apennines (Province of Modena, Italy) have undergone heavy tampering since 1961 when this small impoundment was completely emptied in order to allow the dredging of the lake bottom. Consequently, the original vegetation was uprooted and the impervious sediments of the lake floor removed. This study has taken into account the present situation of the lake\u2019s macrozoobenthos after previous investigations going back to some 30 years ago (Crema & Zunarelli Vandini, 1983). For this purpose, sampling was carried out in June, July and October 2011 and in the spring of 2014. At the same time, the main chemical and physical parameters were acquired and observations concerning the batrachofauna and ichthyofauna of this wetland were carried out

Cracking the Code of Human Diseases Using Next-Generation Sequencing: Applications, Challenges, and Perspectives

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies have greatly impacted on every field of molecular research mainly because they reduce costs and increase throughput of DNA sequencing. These features, together with the technology's flexibility, have opened the way to a variety of applications including the study of the molecular basis of human diseases. Several analytical approaches have been developed to selectively enrich regions of interest from the whole genome in order to identify germinal and/or somatic sequence variants and to study DNA methylation. These approaches are now widely used in research, and they are already being used in routine molecular diagnostics. However, some issues are still controversial, namely, standardization of methods, data analysis and storage, and ethical aspects. Besides providing an overview of the NGS-based approaches most frequently used to study the molecular basis of human diseases at DNA level, we discuss the principal challenges and applications of NGS in the field of human genomics

Inflammation-Independent Antinociceptive Effects of DF2755A, a CXCR1/2 Selective Inhibitor: A New Potential Therapeutic Treatment for Peripheral Neuropathy Associated to Non-Ulcerative Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome

Interstitial cystitis (IC)/bladder pain syndrome (BPS) is a chronic bladder disease of unknown etiology characterized by urinary frequency and episodic and chronic pain. Analgesic treatments for IC/BPS are limited, especially for patients with non-Hunner (non-ulcerative) type IC who usually have poor overall outcomes. Here, we demonstrate that oral treatment with DF2755A, a potent and selective inhibitor of chemokine receptors CXCR1/2, can prevent and reverse peripheral neuropathy associated to non-Hunner IC/BPS by directly inhibiting chemokine-induced excitation of sensory neurons. We tested DF2755A antinociceptive effects in a cyclophosphamide (CYP)-induced non-ulcerative IC rat model characterized by severe peripheral neuropathy in the absence of bladder inflammatory infiltrate, urothelial hyperplasia, and hemorrhage. Treatment with DF2755A prevented the onset of peripheral neuropathy and reversed its development in CYP-induced IC rats, showing a strong and long-lasting anti-hyperalgesic effect. Ex vivo and in vitro studies showed that DF2755A treatment strongly inhibited the expression of CXCR2 agonists, CXCL1/KC, and CXCL5 and of transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) compared to vehicle, suggesting that its effects can be due to the inhibition of the nociceptive signaling passing through the CXCL1/CXCR1-2 axis and TRPV1. In conclusion, our results highlight the key pathophysiological role played by the CXCL1/CXCR1-2 axis and TRPV1 in the onset and development of peripheral neuropathy in non-Hunner IC and propose DF2755A as a potential therapeutic approach for the treatment of not only inflammatory painful conditions but also neuropathic ones and in particular non-Hunner IC/BPS

The ARGO Project: assessing NA-TECH risks on offshore oil platforms

Abstract Analysis of natural and anthRopoGenic risks on Offshore platforms (ARGO) is a 3-years project, funded by the Italian Ministry of Economic Development. The project, coordinated by AMRA, a permanent Research Centre for the development of innovative technologies applied to environmental problems, aims at providing technical-support for the analysis of natural and anthropogenic risks on offshore oil-platforms. ARGO has developed methodologies for the probabilistic analysis of industrial accidents triggered by natural events (NA-TECH) on offshore platforms. The final analysis of the ARGO Project suggest a constant monitoring of exploitation activity, fluids re-injection and storage using high technology networks

CXCL1-CXCR1/2 signaling is induced in human temporal lobe epilepsy and contributes to seizures in a murine model of acquired epilepsy

Abstract CXCL1, a functional murine orthologue of the human chemokine CXCL8 (IL-8), and its CXCR1 and CXCR2 receptors were investigated in a murine model of acquired epilepsy developing following status epilepticus (SE) induced by intra-amygdala kainate. CXCL8 and its receptors were also studied in human temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). The functional involvement of the chemokine in seizure generation and neuronal cell loss was assessed in mice using reparixin (formerly referred to as repertaxin), a non-competitive allosteric inhibitor of CXCR1/2 receptors. We found a significant increase in hippocampal CXCL1 level within 24 h of SE onset that lasted for at least 1 week. No changes were measured in blood. In analogy with human TLE, immunohistochemistry in epileptic mice showed that CXCL1 and its two receptors were increased in hippocampal neuronal cells. Additional expression of these molecules was found in glia in human TLE. Mice were treated with reparixin or vehicle during SE and for additional 6 days thereafter, using subcutaneous osmotic minipumps. Drug-treated mice showed a faster SE decay, a reduced incidence of acute symptomatic seizures during 48 h post-SE, and a delayed time to spontaneous seizures onset compared to vehicle controls. Upon reparixin discontinuation, mice developed spontaneous seizures similar to vehicle mice, as shown by EEG monitoring at 14 days and 2.5 months post-SE. In the same epileptic mice, reparixin reduced neuronal cell loss in the hippocampus vs vehicle-injected mice, as assessed by Nissl staining at completion of EEG monitoring. Reparixin administration for 2 weeks in mice with established chronic seizures, reduced by 2-fold on average seizure number vs pre-treatment baseline, and this effect was reversible upon drug discontinuation. No significant changes in seizure number were measured in vehicle-injected epileptic mice that were EEG monitored in parallel. Data show that CXCL1-IL-8 signaling is activated in experimental and human epilepsy and contributes to acute and chronic seizures in mice, therefore representing a potential new target to attain anti-ictogenic effects

Multi-risk governance for natural hazards in Naples and Guadeloupe

Technical and institutional capacities are strongly related and must be jointly developed to guarantee effective natural risk governance. Indeed, the available technical solutions and decision support tools influence the development of institutional frameworks and disaster policies. This paper analyses technical and institutional capacities, by providing a comparative evaluation of governance systems in Italy and France. The focus is on two case studies: Naples and Guadeloupe. Both areas are exposed to multiple hazards, including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, floods, tsunamis, fires, cyclones, and marine inundations Cascade and conjoint effects such as seismic swarms triggered by volcanic activity have also been taken into account. The research design is based on a documentary analysis of laws and policy documents informed by semi-structured interviews and focus groups with stakeholders at the local level. This leads to the identification of three sets of governance characteristics that cover the key issues of: (1) stakeholders and governance level; (2) decision support tools and mitigation measures; and (3) stakeholder cooperation and communication. The results provide an overview of the similarities and differences as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the governance systems across risks. Both case studies have developed adequate decision support tools for most of the hazards of concern. Warning systems, and the assessment of hazards and exposure are the main strengths. While technical/scientific capacities are very well developed, the main weaknesses involve the interagency communication and cooperation, and the use and dissemination of scientific knowledge when developing policies and practices. The consequences for multi-risk governance are outlined in the discussion